A Forest of Stars - Kevin J. Anderson [188]
DD absorbed it all. “Interesting.” Louis Colicos had often used the disarming, noncommital response. Now the compy understood how useful the word could be.
Inside the colossal transparent-walled cityspheres, DD could see swirling structures, an architecture based on materials and pressures completely foreign to those used in human constructions. Sirix piloted their vessel toward the impenetrable wall of the nearest sphere, then guided them directly through the diamondfilm as if it were made of soft jelly. They entered the fantastic metropolis.
“You will see why we were wise to forge an alliance with the hydrogues long ago. All other races are doomed to extinction.”
“But that required you to turn against your own creators.”
“An irrelevant detail.” The black robot landed the ship on an extruded platform of transparent glassy metal. “Everything we do is for the preservation and enhancement of our kind.”
The hulking robot commanded the Friendly compy to join him outside the small ship in the hydrogues’ natural environment. Any human would have been crushed instantly into ooze, but DD’s modified body adjusted to the pressures and high temperatures within the alien citysphere. Strange flowing substances moved about like puddles and clusters of quicksilver that shifted and re-formed themselves into shapes, as if molded from crystalline clay.
“The hydrogues will speak with us,” said Sirix.
Three of the unusual flowing creatures arrived at the receiving platform. Like a choreographed dance, they grew taller, molding their bodies, configuring identifiable physical forms out of a living silvery essence. Finally, each one settled into the identical shape of a metallic human body, garbed in simulated clothing that mimicked Roamer style.
“Why do they look like that?” DD asked.
“That is merely the form they have chosen to wear during this portion of the conflict. It is a reproduction of the first human they scanned and absorbed. It serves as a generic spokesman. Hydrogues do not understand the differences among individual humans or Ildirans. Even we Klikiss robots have difficulty identifying subtle feature variations among those races.”
“Perhaps it is because they have not studied humans enough to comprehend them,” DD suggested. “It would solve many problems if they tried to understand.”
“The hydrogues occasionally analyze other captives, but their interest is not so great that they would choose to expend a huge effort on the process.”
“They have other human captives?”
“Several samples,” Sirix said. “For experimentation.”
DD suddenly felt a flash of hope. “Do they know what happened to my master Margaret Colicos after she passed through the Klikiss transportal? Did the hydrogues perhaps intercept her—”
“Margaret Colicos is of no concern. The hydrogues have not taken her.”
The quicksilver aliens moved forward on artificial human legs that had never been designed to walk in such an environment. They remained ominously silent except for a weird background throbbing that might have been a deep subsonic form of communication beyond the ability of DD’s sensors to interpret.
“We have brought another of the human-made compies,” said Sirix, as if proud to present a specimen. “We desire for these sentient machine-slaves to achieve parity with us. We have proven it can be done.”
DD stood up for himself, though. “You are making many invalid assumptions, Sirix. That is not what any compy desires.”
“You do not understand your own plight, DD,” Sirix answered, chiding him. “Even though compies do not comprehend their slavery, invisible chains are still chains. We will make you learn, and see.”
The three hydrogues stood staring at them. DD tried to detect any sort of communication from the quicksilver statues, but perceived only baleful stares and an ever-present unspoken threat.
Sirix continued to talk to the trio of alien representatives. DD thought the burly Klikiss robot seemed almost sycophantic, like a peasant pleading his case before an aloof king. “We require the assistance of the powerful hydrogues to deal with